When to harvest

Discussions on growing and cultivating tobacco.
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kbadkar
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When to harvest

Post by kbadkar »

My plants are growing nicely. I have over 10 varieties and had a number of transplanting dates, so there are many variables that I am watching. Since I have weeded down the playing field to 40 plants, I have time to manually top, sucker, and harvest in intervals.

It has been easy to figure out when to harvest the Virginia Gold and Burley plants... they turn yellow. I have already completely harvested a Virginia plant, about 8 weeks after topping. But a Havana plant that was transplanted and topped at the same time shows no visual indication that it will turn yellow at all. Same goes for the Turkish Samsun, Tennessee Red Leaf, and Orinoco. So, what visual clues tell you when it is time to harvest darker leafed (green stem) tobacco?

I have heard the following advice, but still feel unsure:
1. try bending the leaf - if it bounces back, it is not ready; if it snaps like celery, it's ready to harvest
2. the leaf tip cups downward and the green color lightens
3. harvest the bottom few leaves at the same time as topping, then harvest 3 more or so in 1 week intervals.
4. harvest when the leaf starts to deteriorate
5. Have a leaf sample analyzed by an agro-lab.
6. esoteric and mystic knowledge handed down through generations - includes moon phases and auspicious signs.

Does anyone have more "concrete" advice? Are there ways to tell if the leaf is mature, aside from color change cues, the "leaf bend test", or set harvest intervals? What chemical or biological peak are we trying to maximize on when timing the harvest? Basically, any harvesting advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
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kbadkar
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Post by kbadkar »

I guess I'll answer my own question, as it may help others. The best advice I got was from the coffinails forum. A fellow named Don answered thusly:

For the Tennessee red leaf, Orinoco and Havana, they will not turn yellow on the plant. Grab the leaf by the stem as if you were going to twist it off. Don't just bend it down a little. When you give it a good sharp twist it will snap off like a piece of celery when it is ripe. It is obvious if it ripe as it easily snaps off. If it doesn't easily snap off, it is not ripe. The leaf will also get a mottled slightly light green or mottled yellowish green look and it will be thicker. Over ripe leaves will be hard to not break when handling.

The Samsun will also easily snap off with a quick twist of the leaf stem. If it doesn't it is not ripe.

It sounds to me like they are not ripe since you are not quite sure about it. When they are ripe it is very obvious becuase they snap off so easily. About 3 leaves will ripen at a time starting at the bottom. Every few days to a week about 3 more will ripen.


So the "snap test" seems to be the most reliable. I harvested almost half of my monster Havana plant yesterday and I am begining to get the "feel" for a ripe leaf snap. The others that I thought should be ripe, didn't snap. Now I wonder if I haven't harvested my mottled yellow Virginia monster a little early, although the leaves have color cured very well. I'm not sure if the yellowing or the snapping criteria for ripeness takes priority.

Also, I found an interesting article by a perfume and scent specialist (of all professions!) on the chemical properties of tobacco leaf before and after harvest. It's long and not for the layman, but fascinating none the less:

http://www.leffingwell.com/download/tob ... mistry.pdf

and this one:

http://www.leffingwell.com/download/tobacco.pdf
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flix
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Post by flix »

Thanks for the info.

My Havana are around 2' tall now. I'm assuming that I've got a long way to go. My Native American plants are puny in comparison, just a few inches tall. Names: Mopan Maya and another one I forget the name of just now.
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kbadkar
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Post by kbadkar »

flix wrote:... My Native American plants are puny in comparison, just a few inches tall. Names: Mopan Maya and another one I forget the name of just now.
All my Native American varieties are kind of puny compared to others, although they came out of the gates quick. I just let them go to flower, as they were pretty insistent on budding, no matter how often I suckered and the full grown leaf size just didn't seem worth the hassle. The Native varieties I have are: Indian Tobacco (Nictotina Rustica), Isleta Puebla, Midewivan Sacred, and Punche.
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